


Letters of Engagement

by RobotSquid



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Fluff, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 15:04:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3072377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobotSquid/pseuds/RobotSquid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor and Loki were promised to each other before they even met.  Somehow, they find a way to make it all work out.</p><p>A Thorki Secret Santa gift for faramirlovertheslasher!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letters of Engagement

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Secret Santa gift for faramirlovertheslasher, who wanted an arranged marriage AU. I hope you enjoy it, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! =)

Asgard had never seen such a terrible storm as when Thor received the news.

He was only a small child then, old enough to know what the word “marriage” meant but still too young to really understand.

“I don’t _want_ to, Mother, I don’t _want to_!” he shouted over and over, cracks of lightning raining chaos over the city outside. Nobody had expected Thor to take the news well, but he had never thrown a tantrum of this magnitude.

“I know, my love,” Frigga told him, sitting on the edge of her son’s bed while his storm raged outside the window. She was not fazed in the slightest when a thunderclap shook the palace, all the lights flickering in its wake. “But you are to be a king one day. This is one of a king’s duties.”

“I don’t want to marry some stupid girl!” Thor cried. “I don’t want to!”

Frigga stayed with him all night, holding and soothing him until the storm subsided into a soft, steady rain.

\---

Thor was set to meet his fiancée a month later. Through distraction, he was mostly able to forget it, but as the day came closer, the weather responded in turn. The constant, tinier storms grew annoying enough that the people came to court, beseeching Odin to calm his son. Asgard had only had their storm god prince for a few short years, and it seemed they were looking forward to the day when he grew older and thus had greater control over his emotions.

Thor did his best to rein in his despondency, if only at the request of his mother. He had to be good for Frigga, didn’t he? For that same reason, he held his tongue as the palace attendants fussed over his court clothes on the day that the party from Jotunheim was to arrive.

“You look so handsome, my son,” Frigga said, glowing with pride from her seat across the room. Thor grinned at her and stood up straighter.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve grown already,” his mother continued wistfully. “It was not so very long ago that you took your first steps away from me.” She laughed. “You promptly fell down the stairs.”

“I made a big crater, didn’t I, Mama?” Thor smiled wider, obviously proud of the memory.

“Yes.” Frigga winced. “All the nice marble, broken to pieces.” She stood and smoothed out the front of her dress. “Well, let’s be off then.”

\---

Thor was happy to show off his regal attire and princely crown for all of ten minutes, and then was so bored it was a struggle to sit up straight. How could there be so many Frost Giants here from Jotunheim? Why did they need to know everybody’s name and what they did and why were they all bringing gifts? Thor didn’t know what half of these things were even supposed to be, and he didn’t care either. He just wanted to see his fiancée.

Frigga had explained to him weeks ago that his future queen was going to be Jotun, and explained that although she was going to look different than him or anybody he knew, that she was still a living being no different than him. She was still going to be a person that he was to love and respect to the utmost degree. Thor thought it was neat that his queen was going to be blue. He had asked his mother what their children would look like, and she had only laughed and replied that they were going to be beautiful no matter what.

When it was finally, finally time for the King and Queen of Jotunheim to make their appearance, Thor sat up straight in his chair. He tried to look over the crowd to get a glimpse of his fiancée, but the Jotnar were not called giants for nothing.

“King Laufey and Queen Farbauti of Jotunheim,” somebody announced from somewhere unseen. As they approached Odin’s throne, Thor stared, trying to figure out which was the king and which was the queen. All the Jotnar looked more or less the same to him, and they were all wearing the same amount of jewelry and gold.

There was a tiny Jotun standing between them. Thor’s eyes locked on her, knowing that this was his future bride. For some reason, all the apprehension from before was nowhere to be found. He was simply too excited. He wanted to know what she looked like. Her features were obscured by the hood of the blue gossamer cloak draped around her shoulders.

The announcer’s voice called out again: “Loki of Jotunheim, scion of the House of Laufey.”

Loki removed her hood and looked up at Thor with the brightest green eyes Thor had ever seen. Almost immediately, Loki scrunched up her face and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest.

Thor couldn’t explain it at that moment, but the prospect of marrying suddenly seemed a whole lot worse.

\---

They were supposed to take this time to get to know each other. The Jotunheim party would not be staying in Asgard for long. Their parents were all talking on the other side of the room while Thor and Loki sat on opposite facing couches, staring at each other quietly.

Loki looked as though she did not want to be here at all. She kept fussing with the jewelry on her hands, taking some of the rings off and throwing them to the ground. A minute later, she would get up and retrieve them again.

“Your hair’s pretty,” Thor offered. “It must be hard to brush.”

“People brush my hair for me,” Loki replied. Thor frowned upon hearing her voice: it wasn’t quite what he’d expected from a princess, Frost Giant or no.

“It takes them too long though,” Loki continued, “and sometimes I leave before they’re done. I don’t want to just sit there all day.”

“Well, when we get married, you won’t have to brush your hair anymore. Not if you don’t want to.”

“I want to cut it.”

Thor’s eyes widened. “You can’t do that! It’s so pretty, it’s the prettiest girl’s hair I’ve ever seen! Except for my mama’s, though.”

“I…excuse me?” Loki’s mouth hung open, her brow constricting into a horrified scowl, and her face flushed a deep red. “Do you think I’m a _girl_?”

Thor was silent for nearly half a minute. “You’re not?”

“ _No_!” Loki jumped to her—well, his, apparently—feet and said, “I’m a prince of Jotunheim! I’m not a girl!”

“Oh.” A pause. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Loki huffed, stared Thor in the face, but eventually sat back down. He tossed a long lock of hair behind his shoulder and sat back into the cough, slouching with his arms crossed over his chest. Even with such terrible posture, he still looked every bit a royal.

“I still think you’re pretty,” Thor told him, a smile creeping across his face.

Loki continued staring, and after a moment of awkward silence, his eyes dropped to the floor and he whispered, “Thank you.”

\---

Thor and Loki did not see each other again for many years, but at Frigga’s suggestion, Thor began to write Loki letters. He did not know what to write, so Frigga suggested that he just write about his day and ask Loki about his. She helped him with the first one.

It had been a simple letter, telling Loki about what he learned from his lessons that day and that he was looking forward to getting a new pair of boots for his birthday. He asked when Loki’s birthday was, and what he wanted for a gift.

Waiting for a response was agony. After a month Thor was convinced that nobody had actually sent the letter. But one morning, Frigga woke him with a piece of paper in her hand, and Thor sat up straight in bed, grabbing the letter from her and hastily opening it.

_Dear Thor,_

_I don’t really know why you are writing me, but Father says I should write you back. How come you only have one pair of shoes? I have thirty pairs of shoes. Why do you have to wait until your birthday to get new things? I only have to ask Father and he gets me anything I want._

_My birthday is on the next full moon. I’m going to have a party and everybody in Jotunheim is going to bring me presents. I’ll write you a full list of what I get afterward._

_If you want to send me a birthday present, my favorite color is green._

_\--Loki_

_P.S. Thank you for the letter. It was nice and I liked reading it._

Thor looked up at Frigga with a raised eyebrow. “Did I make him mad, Mother?”

“I don’t think so,” she replied, gently taking the letter and folding it in half. “Though between you and me, I think Prince Loki could do with some extra etiquette lessons.”

Thor giggled at that.

\---

They communicated through letters for the next few years. Thor sent his regularly, once every three months, but Loki’s response time varied. Thor tried not to be offended by it, because when the letters did arrive, he found that he enjoyed reading them very much. He remembered the time he noticed the handwriting had changed. Loki must have started writing them himself instead of dictating to a scribe. Not long after, Thor decided to do the same.

The content of the letters changed a bit after that. Since Thor no longer had to tell his mother what he wanted to say, it was easier to arrange his thoughts into words. He told Loki things that he would not tell anybody else, not even Sif and the others.

In turn, Loki’s letters became more earnest. Perhaps that was only because they were both getting older and more mature. Or at least slightly more mature. Loki still liked to brag about all the material wealth he had, still liked to demand that Thor send him gifts (which Thor had never done), and still liked to talk about himself. But he asked more questions about Thor. Showed a bit more interest in things Thor had written about before. Talked about the fact that they would be married someday.

Thor didn’t think about that part so much as the years went on. Yes, Loki was his fiancé on paper, but that’s all he was for now. Just paper, just words in a letter that brought Thor an unnamable happiness whenever he read them. Part of him didn’t even remember what Loki looked like when they’d first met so long ago. The day of their wedding seemed so far away, what point was there in thinking about it every day?

\---

Seven years later, Loki was set to visit Asgard again, along with the rest of the Jotunheim royal family. They were going to have a proper stay and a proper Asgardian welcome, complete with a feast and at least three days of drinking.

Thor was, of course, older now, and starting to see the appeal in acquiring a marriage partner. He was looking forward to seeing Loki this time. He could only hope that Loki felt the same way.

When he did see Loki again, following his parents into the throne room as he did so many years ago, Thor felt his face grow warm. He smiled, waving at Loki from his seat beside his father, and was rewarded with a small smile in return.

Back then, Loki had been covered in jewelry and gold and silk. His attire was more modest now, less the outfit of a spoiled rotten child and more that of a growing prince who was learning to properly present himself. His hair was longer too, bound up in golden rings that matched the large hoop earrings framing his face. Loki was still small among the Jotnar entourage, an observation that did not surprise Thor. Loki had confessed in a letter a few years before that he was born stunted, and considered a runt within his family. He would never grow to the full size and height of his father.

Thor didn’t mind that so much. If he and Loki would just be the same size for the rest of their lives, all the better.

\---

They weren’t supposed to be left alone together. Even when they were with their parents, Thor and Loki both had to have a chaperone. But Loki was clever, and they were both bored. Loki was not enjoying the feast, and Thor could barely make himself heard over the noise. When Loki eventually did turn to Thor and ask, “Do you want to do something else?” Thor’s only thought was that anything at all was better than this.

Loki smiled, his ruby eyes scanning the room. With a green shimmer of magic, Loki’s form changed before Thor’s eyes into a fully grown Asgardian. In fact, he had transformed into the very Einherjar that was supposed to be looking after Thor.

Loki got to his feet and gestured for Thor to follow him. Intrigued and enthralled, Thor obeyed without a word.

“The prince is tired,” Loki-in-disguise said to Frigga as they passed her seat. “I will escort him to his room.”

She nodded and thanked him for his service, then bid Thor goodnight.

When they were out in the hall, the green light blurred over Loki’s features again and he reappeared with a wide grin.

“That was amazing magic!” Thor exclaimed. “That’s almost as good as my mother’s.”

“I’m the best at it back home,” Loki said, tossing his long black hair over his shoulder. He reached forward and grabbed Thor’s hand, tugging him along. “Come on.”

Despite the fact that Loki did not know where he was going, Thor followed him. Anytime they heard footsteps, they would duck behind a column or a tapestry, and one time Loki had had to hastily cast a new spell on them both to turn them into nondescript servants. In the end, they arrived in an empty, dark hallway that Thor was certain even he had never seen before.

“This palace is so big,” Loki said, looking up at the roof vaulting. “When I’m your husband you’re going to have to put up signs for me so I can get around. Or just carry me everywhere.”

Thor laughed. “I can manage one of those, I’m sure.”

Loki turned to him and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re going to be nice to me when we’re married, right?” He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You’re not going to ignore me and cheat on me, are you?”

“What?” The smile fell off Thor’s face. “No, of course not.”

“Good. Because if you did, I would kill you and take the throne for myself.”

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence. Thor searched Loki’s stoic face for any hint of insincerity.

Loki smiled and began to giggle. “You Aesir are so serious all the time!”

“I don’t think it’s funny to joke about killing somebody,” Thor said warily.

Loki only shrugged. “I didn’t realize you were so sensitive. My mistake.” He turned and began to wander down the hallway some more. Thor watched him go until he realized that Loki was not coming back, and so he ran to catch up.

“I’ve really liked reading your letters,” Thor said, desperate for a change in mood. “I thought you weren’t going to write back to me at first.”

“I had some difficulty in deciding what to say.” They turned a corner. A faint light was illuminating one wall, and they saw an open window with the moonlight coming in. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” Thor asked as they stopped by the window. Loki hopped up and sat on the windowsill.

“Well, you thought I was a girl when we first met,” Loki said dryly. “I thought you were disappointed in me.”

“Oh, that.” Thor laughed uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I still feel really bad about that. My mother said that I was marrying a girl, and that she’d be my queen, so I must have been confused.”

Loki blinked at him with impossibly bright red eyes. “Can’t I be a queen while also being ‘not a girl’? You can’t back out of the engagement now. I’ll tell my father and he’ll declare war on Asgard.”

Thor frowned. “Stop joking about that. I’m not disappointed in you and I’m not going to break up with you.”

“Break up with me? Are we dating?”

“I mean…in a manner of speaking, I suppose we are.”

Loki crossed his arms and regarded Thor warily. “This is only the second time we’ve ever met. I’m surprised you don’t have some other girl who you have promised your heart to while I was not here.”

“Of course not. Everybody knows I am going to marry you.”

“Do you _want_ to marry me?”

“I….” Thor paused, pondering that. He had never really considered marrying anybody at all, since Loki had been his fiancé since he was young enough to understand the word. Having a choice in who he spent his life with had never been presented to him as a possibility.

“I don’t know,” he said eventually, his eyes fixated on the opposite wall, the moonlight projecting Loki’s small shadow across the stones. “Neither of us really have a choice, do we?”

Loki laughed, a bitter sound. “No, we do not.”

Thor felt a cool touch on his cheek and turned his head. Loki’s face was inches away from his own.

“To be honest,” Loki said softly, “I’m not sure if I want to marry you either.”

Thor stood completely still, willing his heart to stop racing, desperately afraid that Loki would kiss him and somebody would find out. What if somebody saw, and the engagement was called off, and Laufey really was so offended that he led a war against Asgard….

“So how about we make an arrangement?” Loki asked, his fingers gently moving against Thor’s skin. “Let’s end the engagement.”

“What?” Thor exclaimed. “We can’t do that!”

“Let me finish,” Loki said, rolling his eyes. “Now, we are no longer engaged, yes? Ask me to marry you.”

“I…excuse me?”

“Ask me to marry you, right now.” A brief pause. “And mean it.”

“Um…will you marry me?”

Loki huffed, pulling his hand away and tossing his hair. “That was almost insulting! You’ve never been romantic once in your life, have you?”

“No, not really,” Thor replied with a grin.

Loki rolled his eyes and gently shoved Thor’s head to the side. “Try it again.”

“Loki, would you please marry me?”

“No.” Loki crossed his arms and looked away.

“Prince Loki of Jotunheim, would you please do me the honor of becoming my queen?”

“…That’s a little better.”

Thor sighed heavily. He walked in front of Loki, gently took the Jotun’s hand, and knelt down on one knee. Raising Loki’s hand to his lips, he kissed the cold fingers as reverently as he could manage. When he looked back up at Loki’s face again, it was flushed completely red, though Loki’s expression remained stoic.

“Prince Loki Laufeyson of Jotunheim, would you grant me the very utmost blessing of having you for my wife and my queen?”

“I…” Loki stammered. He cleared his throat. “Are you not going to present me with a ring?”

“Er….” Thor faltered a moment, then gently removed one of the many golden rings already adorning Loki’s fingers. “How about this?”

Loki snorted, laughing into his free hand. “Very well.”

Thor smiled and slipped the ring onto Loki’s ring finger.

“Yes,” Loki said after appearing to consider it. “Yes, Prince Thor of Asgard, I do believe I will allow you to make me your queen.”

\---

After Loki left Asgard, he did not return again for another five years. Thor kept up the letter writing, and Loki continued to reply, though he ended each correspondence with a reminder that Thor had better keep his promise to marry him.

Thor sent small gifts when he could. It was difficult to find something that Loki did not surely already own. Once he thought to send Loki some colorful parrots, but was stopped at the last minute by Frigga who told him those animals would likely die in the cold climate of Jotunheim. Thus, Thor sent an ermine instead, for Loki to keep as a pet.

Loki’s next letter was the most enthusiastically gracious collection of words that Thor had ever seen him write.

Loki did not often send presents back, though one year he did send a stunningly well-made sword. It was not Thor’s weapon of choice when training or sparring, though he did make a great effort to use it when he could.

But the thing Thor looked forward to the most was the letters themselves. Loki’s stories and manner of speaking always made him laugh, even his tales of how his mischief-making magic made life unnecessarily difficult for everybody in the palace, especially his two older brothers. In turn, Loki seemed genuinely intrigued by Thor’s talk of his exploits, the hunting trips and the way he dominated everybody in the practice ring and how his ability to call storms at will was growing better each day.

Everybody in Asgard praised Thor already because, in a way, they were expected to. It was difficult to know who was sincere and who was merely sycophantic. Earning Loki’s praise and respect had been a long, tedious process of many years, and Thor treasured his words more than any jewel in all the Nine Realms.

He could only hope that nothing would change when they finally did marry.

\---

There was a soft knock at the door.

“Come in,” Thor said sharply. No matter how he fiddled with the clasp on his cloak, it didn’t look right. It was his wedding day; he had to look absolutely perfect.

The door opened and closed, and tiny footsteps crossed the room.

Loki’s face appeared behind Thor in the mirror. “Good morning, my prince,” he said smoothly.

“Loki!” Thor exclaimed, whirling around. “What are you—I’m not supposed to see you before—”

Loki rolled his eyes and waved a hand. “A silly superstition. Besides, you are not supposed to see me in my _wedding dress_. Am I wearing my dress?”

“I…no. But still, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, why not?” Loki walked over to Thor’s bed and plopped down on it, laying back with his arms extended above his head. “This is going to be my room too starting tonight. I want to see it.”

“Be that as it may,” Thor grumbled, turning back to the mirror to fuss with his hair, “if you’re seen in here, there will be a scandal.”

“Ooo, that sounds fun! A scandal to start off our marriage. How very exciting!”

“I’d rather not have the entire realm believe that I treated you with anything but the utmost respect.”

“Why’s that?” Loki sat up, leaning back on his elbows.

“Because,” Thor explained, now dissatisfied with his shirt cuffs, “it would not do to have a king that does not respect and honor his queen.”

“So if you were not a king, would you still feel that way?”

Thor turned to face him. “Of course, Loki. I would never dream of doing anything to dishonor you.”

“Is that so?” Loki got to his feet and walked over to him. “Why?”

“Because…because I love you, Loki.”

Thor was as surprised by his words as Loki was. He hadn’t planned to say them, he wasn’t sure what made him say them, but as soon as they were out, he knew that nothing had ever been truer. A small smile spread across his face, and all the stress of the day left him.

Loki crossed his arms, that gesture he was so fond of doing whenever he was flustered, and said, “Do you now?”

“Yes, I do. You have been my fiancé and my best friend since I was a child. I was always destined to be with you, and I can’t think of anything I would like more.”

“Hmm.” Loki turned away, a deep blush filling his features. Thor smiled and gently turned Loki’s face back towards him, and planted a tiny kiss on his cheek.

Loki placed his hand on Thor’s cheek and half-heartedly shoved his head to the side. Thor only laughed.

“How dare you kiss me like that before we are wed,” Loki said, scowling.

“Forgive me, my dear,” Thor replied cheekily.

“If you are going to kiss me now, then you may as well do it correctly.”

“Very well.” Thor took hold of Loki’s hand in between his hands and brought their lips together for the first time. Loki’s lips were cool and smooth, an undercurrent of bitter winter chill pleasantly stinging Thor’s tongue. By the time Thor pulled away, Loki’s skin had grown uncharacteristically warm underneath his palms.

Thor’s smile only grew bigger, and Loki managed a small one in return. “I think I will enjoy being married to you very much, Prince Thor of Asgard.”


End file.
